At the Learning Gate Community School in Lutz, students are learning the importance of recycling food waste. Robert Bair, who is Ph.D. student, and Dr. Daniel Yeh, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at USF, have introduced innovative practices to integrate the school’s waste into a renewable energy source. It takes about 30 pounds of uneaten food and turns garbage into biogas and fertilizer. Then, the fertilizer goes toward growing vegetables in the school’s greenhouse, and eventually, the biogas will help power the school. The students are taking part in the project by making mini-digesters of their own to understand how the process works. They will have a “recycling in action” experience that will make a difference in the way they think about school leftovers.